


The House that Flint Built

by abeth_zuppa



Category: Mother 3
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-06-06 02:22:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6734098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abeth_zuppa/pseuds/abeth_zuppa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"This is the house that Flint built..."</p>
<p>Flint surprises Hinawa with a gift.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. This is the house

“Flint, can I open my eyes yet?”

“Not yet, Hinawa. Just a few more moments.”

Flint was holding his young wife’s hand, guiding her gently as she kept her eyes closed. He told her he had a surprise for her, and she eagerly went along with him. 

“How about now?”

“No, dear, not yet.”

Hinawa pulled a pouty face, the one that Flint told her was “absolutely adorable” every time she did it, with her pink lips all puckered out. Flint continued to lead her, making sure she wasn’t going to trip on anything. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Flint stopped. Hinawa smiled. 

“Can I open them now?”

“Hold on, Hinawa. Just a second.”

“Flint, I swear this had better be good.”

"I hope it’s good too" Flint thought to himself. He started to walk behind Hinawa, placing his hands on her small shoulders. 

“Are you ready for your surprise?” he whispered to her. 

She nodded her head.

“Okay”, he said before taking a deep breath. “Open your eyes”.

Hinawa opened her eyes, blinking as she took in the sudden amount of light. She stared straight ahead of her, with an audible gasp leaving her mouth.  
In front of her and Flint was a house made out of wood. A wooden door stood in the middle, right in front of Hinawa. There was a window on each side of the door. From what Hinawa could see, it wasn’t too big, but it wasn’t too small either. 

“Is that…?”

“Yep, that’s a doghouse for Boney”. 

Hinawa put her hands over her mouth at the sight of it all. 

“Flint! What, where, how….?!”

Flint gently turned Hinawa to face him. 

“I wanted to build you a house. One where we could live, with our future family, and grow old together. It took some time, but I got Bronson and some of the other people to help out with the building. It was a group effort”.

“Flint….this house looks exactly like the one I drew. Did you….?”

Flint glanced down at the ground. 

“You used my designs, didn’t you?”

Flint blushed a little.

“I wanted to make it absolutely perfect. I- hope you don’t mind.”

Hinawa placed a hand on his chin, bringing it up to look at her. 

“I love it.”

She stood up on her tiptoes a little in order to kiss him lightly on the lips. Even though they were married, they both still found it awkward to kiss each other. After their lips parted, Flint took one of Hinawa’s smaller hands into his larger one. 

“Do you want to see the inside?”

“Oh yes”

Flint led Hinawa to the wooden door, where he then proceeded to pull out a key on a string. He placed it into the keyhole, until he could hear a small “click”, signifying that the door was unlocked. He put the key away back into his pocket. 

Hinawa started to walk towards the door, but Flint had another idea. He picked up Hinawa in his arms, like he did on their wedding day, earning a little surprised “eep” from his wife. 

She turned her head to look him in the eye. 

“You always had a way of sweeping me off of my feet”.

He blushed a little at her words, kissing her on the forehead. 

“I try, my dear”.

And with that, he carried her over the threshold of the house, into the house where they were going to start their lives together.


	2. This is the chair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the chair  
> That sat in the house that Flint built

2\. This is the chair

"This is the chair  
That sat in the house that Flint built"  
\-----------  
After showing Hinawa around the new house, she noted to her husband that the only piece of furniture in the house was a bed.

“It’s the only piece of furniture we need….” He whispered under his breath.

Unfortunately for Flint, his wife had heard him. The awkward stare between them caused both of them to blush as red as the handkerchief in Flint’s pocket. Clearing his throat, he asked Hinawa what she wanted first, to make up for the lack of furniture. 

“I want you to make a rocking chair”, she told him.

“A rocking chair?” 

Now, Flint was always good with his hands, and he found a lot of joy in woodworking. There was something about the whole process, from picking the perfect tree, to carving, to smoothing the uneven edges, and even to blowing the bits of wood off that would litter the ground and get in his mouth and stubble, that filled him with a sense of peace.  
He had made the bed that was currently in the house, but a rocking chair? He had built plenty of chairs before, but not a rocking chair. 

“Why a rocking chair, Hinawa?”

She glanced out the window, staring at the sunlit scenery. 

“I’ve always wanted one, just like my father’s. He would sit there and rock back and forth while I sat at his feet, listening to him tell so many wonderful stories. I want to do that as well, and maybe share those stories with my, I mean, our children someday”. 

Flint chuckled. When Hinawa started talking about having a family with him, she would blush a little bit and act nervous. Even though they were married, it was still a strange sensation that they were going to have children in the future. He went over to her and kissed her forehead. 

“I’ll get started on that rocking chair right now, dear”.

Hinawa, however, had other ideas. 

“Get started on it tomorrow. This bed needs to be put to good use right now”.  
\------------------  
The next morning, Flint rose from the bed he shared with his wife. He kissed her cheek gently before going to get dressed. He wanted to get that rocking chair done as soon as he could so that he could start on the next project. He grabbed his ax and set out in search of the best tree to utilize. Hinawa had politely told him that she wanted it made out of pine, due to its light color and the slight scent of the forest that it carried.

The morning sun was peeking out, brightening up the small village of Tazmily as Flint headed to the woods. Nobody else was up yet, and Flint wondered if he was up too early and disturbing the morning peace. 

Sighing, he continued on towards the forest. He made sure to head for trees that were not near the village. It would be really bad if he cut a tree down and it landed on one of the houses in Tazmily, especially at this hour. He scanned the woods, hoping to find a tall, sturdy tree that would work to make his wife’s gift. After about an hour of walking, he saw the perfect tree. Tall, strong, and a wonderful scent of pine. He got to work chopping it down.  
\-----------------  
The sun was high in the sky when Flint finished getting the tree back to the house. During the process of chopping, Bronson and some others from the town came. They asked if they could assist in any way, and Flint accepted their help to bring the fallen tree back to his house. With the help of the villagers, he was able to get the tree back without difficulty. After the townsfolk left and wished him luck on the chair, Flint grabbed his woodworking tools from inside to start turning the tree into a masterpiece.  
\-----------------  
Three days later, Flint was done. 

He stepped back from the finished product, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief. He was actually rather proud of his handiwork, even though he had never made a rocking chair before. Throughout the whole process, Flint would sit on the chair, making sure that it rocked and would not break under the weight of one person. He cut, carved, and sanded the chair, earning lots of cuts and splinters along the way, until it was absolutely perfect. 

But now, for the ultimate test….

When Flint walked into the house, he found Hinawa in the kitchen. She was washing the dishes left over from breakfast, humming to herself and making sure the plates had no food remnants remaining. Flint came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, which made her yelp in surprise. 

“It’s just me, Hinawa”.

She craned her head to look at her husband. 

“Flint, you scared me! I almost broke a plate”.

“I’m sorry, dear, but I need to show you something,” Flint replied as he kissed her hair. 

Hinawa wriggled out of his embrace, excitement breaking over her face. 

“Is it done?”

He took her damp hands in his, instructing her to close her eyes as he led her outside. 

Pulling gently towards the rocking chair, he made sure she didn’t peek at her new gift. 

“Okay Hinawa, you can open your eyes now”, he said. 

Hinawa opened her eyes, and for the second time in the past few days, she gasped in awe. 

In front of her was the beautiful, light-colored rocking chair that Flint had spent days on. She touched the smooth wood on the arms and seat, taking in the light scent of pine that lingered. The head of the chair was engraved with a sunflower design, Hinawa’s favorite flower. She sat herself down on the chair and began to rock, closing her eyes and taking in everything around her. The warmth of the sun, the smoothness of the wood, the smell of pine – it was magical. 

“Hinawa?”

She opened her eyes, breaking her reverie, to see Flint kneeling down in front of her.

“Hinawa, do you like it?”

“Yes, I love it. I love it so much”, she responded. 

She placed her hands on the sides of Flint’s face and planted a kiss on his lips. 

“Now, are you going to move it inside for me, sweetheart?” she asked. 

“Of course, dear”, he responded, getting up and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

He picked up the chair and brought it into their house, setting it next to one of the windows. Hinawa asked him to reposition it multiple times, telling him that she wanted to be near the sunlight. When the chair was positioned to Hinawa’s liking, they stepped back and looked over their work. 

It was not much, but it was a great start to turning their simple house into a home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, another chapter up! I was pretty much done with this chapter last month, but I never got around to editing and uploading it. I promise that you won't have to wait much longer for the next chapters.


	3. This is the dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the dog   
> That slept by the chair  
> That sat in the house that Flint built

If there was one thing that Flint enjoyed in life, it was mornings in Tazmily. The combination of the sun barely peeking through the bedroom window, the birds chirping outside, and the gentle breathing of his lovely wife next to him was pure bliss. 

On this morning, Flint was sleeping soundly, Hinawa curled up against his chest. The couple had fallen asleep late, with Flint taking care of the sheep and Hinawa working on another quilt. They were enjoying a few minutes of extra sleep together, a rare moment for both of them. But then, there came the sound of padding feet across the hardwood floor.

A brown dog, around two years of age, came bounding into the room where the couple slept. It gave a small “bark” and went up to Flint’s side of the bed. The dog jumped up onto the bed, licking Flint’s face repeatedly in an attempt to get its master up. 

“Okay, Boney, I’m up,” Flint groaned groggily. 

The dog panted and barked again, wagging his tail gently. Flint rubbed his eyes and pet Boney before getting him off of the bed. 

Flint bent down and gave a small kiss on Hinawa’s forehead. 

“Good morning, sunshine”.

Hinawa opened her eyes slightly, a tired smile resting on her face and her brown hair all mussed up from sleep. 

“Mmm, you should go take care of Boney, dear”.

Flint kissed her on her lips. 

“I will. I’ll let you get some more sleep. You look exhausted.”

Hinawa nodded, turning to the other side and immediately went back to sleep. Flint removed the covers from his body and swung his legs out of the warm bed. He stretched slightly, preparing himself to start the day.   
\------------  
After getting dressed, Flint headed down the stairs. He walked into the living room, where Boney was sitting next to Hinawa’s rocking chair. 

“Come on Boney, let’s have breakfast,” Flint said to the dog. 

Boney got up from his spot and followed Flint into the kitchen area. Flint filled up Boney’s food and water bowls, which Boney consumed from happily. Flint prepared eggs and toast for himself, with a cup of coffee to drink. He ate in silence, thinking about what he needed to do today. Bronson and Lighter had asked for his help to fix up a roof of someone’s house. He also had to buy groceries in the village, but he also had to take care of the sheep outside his house. Maybe he could ask Hinawa to buy groceries later…

His thoughts turned from his mental to-do list to Hinawa. She had not been feeling well for the past few days, almost two weeks now. She seemed tired a lot and complained of feeling nauseous. Some days she would be her normal self and not bothered at all. However, there were days she would wake up early in the mornings and head to the bathroom and come out half an hour later. 

“Maybe I should get Tessie to visit her, just to make sure it’s not something serious...,” he thought to himself. 

A bark from Boney snapped him out of his thoughts. He shook his head and finished the last of his coffee. He got up, patted Boney, and went to fetch his tools. Before heading out the door, he wrote a note to Hinawa, saying where he was going and that they needed groceries. He hesitated a bit before writing a small message about how she should go see Tessie or a doctor, just in case. He finished off his note with an “I love you”. 

He turned to Boney after writing the note. 

“Take care of Hinawa for me today, okay boy?”

Boney barked, laying down and wagging his tail excitedly. Flint gave him one last pat and scratch behind the ears before heading out into town.   
\--------------  
After Flint left, Boney headed back to his favorite spot next to the rocking chair. He laid down for a while, his ears perking up when he heard Hinawa’s footsteps coming downstairs. He got up and went towards her, Hinawa petting his head on her way to the kitchen. She made herself some tea and noticed the note that Flint had left for her. As the kettle heated on the stove, she read through it. 

“Hmmm, so he has noticed something wrong. Maybe I should go see Tessie today, just to make sure,” she said out loud. 

Boney barked, accompanied by the whistling of the tea kettle. 

Hinawa giggled and bent down to pet the dog. 

“You’re right, Boney. I’ll go visit Tessie this afternoon”. 

She went and poured herself a cup of tea then made her way to the living room. Boney trotted behind her, his nails clicking against the floor. Hinawa sat down in the rocking chair that Flint had made for her, with Boney curling up next to her on the floor. She alternated between sipping from her teacup and scratching Boney’s head, all while glancing outside the window. She could see a few of the sheep grazing nearby, but otherwise it was calm and quiet.  
\-----------  
After an hour of sitting and drinking tea, Hinawa got up, with Boney following along right behind. She went to get ready for a visit to Tessie, while Boney went and fetched her shoes. When Hinawa came back downstairs, Boney was waiting for her with a pair of shoes in his mouth. 

Hinawa bent down, laughing, and scratched underneath Boney’s chin. 

“Good boy, Boney. Come on, let’s go outside.”

The two stepped outside of the little house, with Hinawa locking the door behind her. Even though Tazmily was a small, friendly area, she was worried that something could happen and took simple precautions. Boney sniffed the air, the scent of grass and sheep filling his nose. He plopped himself down outside of the door and nudged Hinawa’s hand. 

With a smile on her face, she pet him. 

“Take care of the sheep, okay boy? I’ll be back in a little bit”.

Boney barked as she waved goodbye and headed into town.   
\---------------  
The rest of the morning, Boney trotted around the yard and watched over the small herd of sheep. From the time he was first brought into the house of Flint and Hinawa, he was trained to be a sheep-herding dog. As a young puppy, Flint would teach him commands particular to the shepherding lifestyle and how to round up the sheep into one condensed herd. Hinawa would also teach Boney, using treats to instruct him how to sit, stay, and lie down. 

Boney was quite thankful that the couple had adopted him. As he had been the runt of the litter born to Lighter’s dog, he was not expected to survive for very long. However, Hinawa had fallen in love with him at first sight. After a few days of discussion between Hinawa and her newly-wedded husband, they agreed to take home the runt, whom Lighter had affectionately been calling “Boney” due to his scrawniness. Now, Boney was living comfortably with the two humans and was no longer as thin as he was when he was a puppy. 

After a few hours of keeping watch over the sheep, Boney heard the sounds of footsteps coming towards him. He perked up his ears and turned around to find Hinawa. Boney could sense that something was off about his mistress. Her scent was a bit different, and she seemed upset about something. 

Hinawa gave him a small pat and let him back inside.   
\-----------  
The two spent the rest of the day in the living room, with Hinawa mindlessly petting Boney while he laid at her feet and snoozed. Sometimes one of them would get up to eat or do other things, but otherwise the two stayed in each other’s company. Hinawa hummed as she worked on another sewing project, a light breeze coming through the window and tickling Boney’s fur. 

As the sun started to set, Boney could sense Flint’s footsteps approaching the house. He ran over to the front door, eagerly awaiting his master’s return. As the door opened, Boney barked excitedly. 

“Hinawa, I’m home!”

Boney yapped and led Flint to the living room, where Hinawa was still sitting in her chair. Upon seeing her husband, she got up and went over to him, a smile on her face. 

“Hello, dear”, she told him as he bent down to kiss her, “how was your day?”

“Pretty busy. Got the roof fixed with Bronson and Lighter and brought home some groceries. How about you, Hinawa, feeling any better?”

Hinawa shifted her gaze down to her bare feet. 

“Dear, is everything okay?”

Flint’s face filled with concern, while Boney whimpered as he rubbed his face on Hinawa’s hand. Hinawa shook her head in response. 

“Oh, yeah, everything’s okay... but, um…”

Flint tilted his head, a questioning look in his eyes. Boney copied his master’s puzzled look. 

Hinawa took a deep breath, her eyes lighting up and the biggest smile crossing her face. 

“Flint, I’m pregnant!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, this chapter was really difficult. I originally wrote this chapter from Boney's perspective, but I found that really difficult to do and ended up starting over maybe 3 times. I'll probably do a rewrite of this chapter someday to reflect that, or at least make it a bonus chapter. 
> 
> But yes, Lucas and Claus will be showing up soon!


	4. This is the mom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the mom  
> That pet the dog  
> That curled by the chair  
> That stood in the house that Flint built

When Hinawa told Flint the news that he was going to be a father, tears welled up in his eyes and his mouth opened in shock. He felt his knees start to wobble and it took so much effort to not fall down in front of his wife. He hadn’t felt this happy since the day that he and Hinawa had gotten married. 

“Flint, are you okay?”

He sniffed as he wiped some tears from his eyes with his handkerchief. 

“I’m fine, Hinawa. I’m just….I can’t believe this is happening. We’re going to be parents!”

Hinawa smiled, tears starting to form in her brown eyes. 

Flint pulled his wife in a loving embrace and kissed her on the head. He then picked her up around her still tiny waist and swung her around. Hinawa laughed as he spun. 

“We’re gonna be parents, Hinawa!”  
\-----------  
After Hinawa made the announcement to Flint, word started to spread throughout Tazmily. Hinawa wrote a letter to her father Alec and sent it his way with the news that she was expecting. Of course, both he and the village were ecstatic over the news. As the weeks passed, the couple received a lot of advice from villagers who had experience as parents or grandparents. The two took in every word that they heard, often with a grain of salt. Sleeping arrangements, feedings, clothing, changing diapers, every subject about babies imaginable was discussed with the expecting parents. 

While the two listened to the advice that was provided, Flint allowed Hinawa to make a majority of the decisions on her own or with some discussion with him. Besides, she was the one carrying around the baby, not him. He only stepped in when she was making a brash decision, like taking the jar of pickles and putting them with oatmeal and fish at breakfast. 

If there was anything that Flint was providing the most, it was support. During the early months of her pregnancy, Hinawa would rise while the morning sky was still dark and head to the bathroom that the two of them shared. As a light sleeper and early riser, Flint would also get out of bed, making it to the bathroom just as he heard the sound of vomiting from his wife. He would gently rub her shoulders and hold back her hair as she suffered through the symptoms of morning sickness. He would also provide her with water and would help her back to bed, making sure that she was comfortable before he would fall back to sleep.   
\----------  
“Flint?”

“Mm-hmm”.

“How’s the cradle coming along?”

Flint lifted his eyes from the book he was reading. Hinawa was sitting in her usual spot in the rocking chair, stitching together pieces of a quilt. She had started it right after she found out she was pregnant and was hoping to have it done before the baby came. 

After the announcement, Flint had also decided to prepare for the baby. He drew up a design for a cradle and showed it to Hinawa. The look on her face was one of pure excitement, her fingers tracing the sunflower patterns that he hoped he could carve. After getting the materials he needed and starting the project, he had accidentally nicked his hand with one of the carving knives. While it wasn’t a serious injury that required stitches, he decided to wait until it healed completely before trying again. 

“It’s coming along. How’s the quilt?”

Hinawa responded with a loud sigh. 

“I can’t get anything done when the baby’s kicking at me”.

Flint got up from his chair and went to sit next to his wife. She took his hand and placed it on her swollen abdomen. At five months, the bump was noticeable and Hinawa struggled to fit into clothes, but Flint thought she still looked absolutely beautiful. Even when he would tell her, she would deny it, trying to hide herself from her husband. 

“Flint, can you feel the baby kicking?”

He concentrated on feeling for the baby kicking, Hinawa’s hand clasped with his over her pink dress. It took a few minutes of silence between the two before he felt it. A small flutter against Hinawa’s stomach. He drew his hand back. 

“Damn, that’s a tough one right there”.

“Flint, watch your language. The baby could hear”.

Flint grinned sheepishly, apologizing for his swearing. 

“Do you think it’s going to be a boy or a girl?” Flint asked. 

Hinawa sighed and picked up her quilt, attempting to work a little further. 

“I don’t know. I would love a little girl, but a little boy would be fine as well. As long as they are healthy,” she replied. 

Flint placed his bandaged hand on the hand that was sewing the quilt pieces together. 

“Hey, as long as the baby has your beautiful eyes, my sweet, I’ll take whatever”.

Hinawa rolled her eyes at her husband’s flirtatious statement. She felt unattractive due to her swollen belly, tired eyes, and aching body, but Flint always tried his best to make her feel happy. 

“Okay, come on, honey. Help me up to bed”.

Flint took her hand and assisted her out of the chair. She could still walk on her own, but she often had trouble getting up from a seated position. The couple made their way   
upstairs for the night.   
\---------  
By the seventh month of pregnancy, Hinawa felt like a wreck. Tessie, local mothers, and the doctor told her that during the last few months of pregnancy, everything was going to be changing. The bump that had only been slightly noticeable a few months ago was clearly visible. She felt like a duck, waddling around the house or even to complete a simple errand. Her breasts were large and full, only adding more to the extra weight she was carrying around. Sleeping normally was no longer an option, as she laid on her side, tossing and turning in an attempt to stay comfortable. The winter air outside the house provided sweet relief to her hot flashes, as she opened a window and startled Boney in the process. 

The biggest change of all to Hinawa was in her mood. She was always known as a cheery woman, with a kind smile on her face and a gentle, nurturing touch to those in the village. However, from the second trimester to the third, her mood fluctuated a lot. She would be happy one moment and then break down sobbing in the next one. Flint and Hinawa had their fair share of arguments (as most married couples do), but Flint noticed how irritable she would get at him. She tried her best to keep her mood swings in check, but there were times when they would get angry at each other over small things and making both of their moods even sourer. But even with their heightened emotions, they still managed to hold on together. 

The two of them were currently trying to finish their respective projects. Flint had finished constructing the crib out of pine and was working on the details. Hinawa tried her best to complete the quilt she had started months ago. The pieces were together, but the designs were not even close to being done. It didn’t help that she frequently felt the baby kicking or that she would have to stand up to go to the bathroom constantly. 

The only thing that both of them could do was to just wait it out, trying their best to occupy time until the day came.   
\--------  
It was a slightly cloudy spring day in Tazmily, with the birds singing and the flowers blooming, when Hinawa felt herself go into labor. 

She cried out in pain as she grabbed onto the kitchen counter, water starting to puddle around her. Boney, napping nearby, stood up and rushed to her.

“Boney, go get Flint! Tell him that the baby’s coming!”

Boney barked, heading out through the dog door to find his master. 

Flint was taking care of the sheep and had heard a loud noise coming from inside the house. As he rushed towards the door, Boney came out and barked, hoping his master would understand the message. 

“Boney, is it Hinawa?”

The brown dog yapped in response. It was then that Flint could hear a cry of pain from Hinawa. He breathed deeply. He knew that he had to get Tessie or the doctor to help out, but he didn’t want to leave Hinawa on her own. 

“Boney, can you go get help?”

Boney barked. Flint patted his scruffy head, praying that Boney could get someone to come to the house. 

“Be quick, Boney!”

As the dog ran off towards the town square, Flint made it inside to find Hinawa on the ground, moaning in pain. 

“Hinawa!”

“Flint, the baby’s coming!”

Flint took a deep breath, trying to calm his panicked nerves. He scooped Hinawa off of the ground, carrying her bridal-style like he did when they first moved into their home. He placed her on their bed for the time being, hoping that someone else would know what to do. 

He held her hand and stroked her hair as she felt her contractions, the two of them waiting for Tessie and the doctor to show up. 

Within the hour, both arrived. Tessie, a woman who had plenty of experience as a midwife and had assisted many women in birthing children, shooed Flint out of the room to gather supplies. The doctor, a well-known and respected man, made sure that Hinawa was staying on track and spent more time supervising. Tessie was the one in charge, ordering Flint to bring hot water and towels and for the doctor to time the intervals between contractions. 

And so, the four of them and Boney waited.   
\-------  
After sixteen hours of labor and the screams of Hinawa piercing to the hallway where Flint and Boney paced anxiously, Tessie called in Flint. 

“Flint, hold onto her hand. The baby is ready to come out!”

Nodding with a look of fear in his eyes and a look of anguish in hers, Flint took Hinawa’s sweaty hand in his. Instantly, she gripped it tight like a vice as she cried out in pain. 

“Okay Hinawa, I need you to push!”

With the first push of many, the pattern continued. Flint kept silent, letting Hinawa groan out whatever words she could and the tears falling from her clenched eyes. 

A cry interrupted the sounds from Hinawa. 

Flint and Hinawa felt themselves fill up with excitement at the long task reaching its completion. 

“Hinawa, there’s another one! I need you to push more!”

With a gasp, Hinawa pushed more, and another cry rang out a few minutes after the first one. Now, the sound of two newborn babies filled the house. As Tessie wiped off the babies to give to Hinawa, Flint kissed her on the lips. He wiped the tears and sweat from her face, pushing the loose hairs from her forehead. 

“Congratulations, you two! You’re the proud parents of twin boys!”

Hinawa reached out her arms to welcome their two children. She brought them to her chest, cooing and whispering to them. Flint grinned at the sight of his wife and children. 

“Twins? I can’t believe it!” he said ecstatically.

“Me neither. That must explain why I was huge”.

Flint laughed, planting another kiss on his wife’s forehead. 

“But we have two healthy boys and you’re okay, and that’s all that matters”.

Hinawa continued to hold the twins as Tessie and the doctor made sure everything was okay. According to Tessie, this was her first time delivering a set of twins and was amazed   
that they were healthy. 

“I’ve heard that there can be problems with delivery and afterbirth, but these two look to be okay”, she told the couple. 

The doctor nodded, noting that the twins were breathing fine and their heart rates were normal. He and Tessie both prescribed that Hinawa get a lot of rest and make sure to eat   
enough protein to make up for what was lost during delivery. Flint made a mental note to get enough eggs and meats at the market the next day in order to feed his protein-deficient wife.

As the doctor and midwife headed out the door back to the village, Tessie turned to Flint. 

“Did you two have names picked out?”

“Well, we weren’t really expecting twins. So, we’ve got nothing yet”.

“Very well. Get some rest. I’ll stop on by later to check on everyone”.

“Okay. Thank you so much Tessie. And you too, Doc”.

With those words, they headed back to the village. Flint closed the door and headed to the bedroom. He found Hinawa sound asleep, the babies cradled against her bare chest. Upon moving towards the bed, Hinawa cracked open her eyes a little bit. 

Flint turned to her, telling her to go back to sleep. She attempted to keep her eyes open until her husband laid next to her in their bed, but she felt herself succumbing to sleep. Flint kissed her on the forehead and stroked her hair. She smiled as the babies breathed softly, their mouths open. 

“Get some sleep, Hinawa. I’ll watch over them”.

She laughed gently. 

“We really need to think of names. I don’t want to call our babies ‘them’ forever”. 

“Okay. Now rest, dear”, Flint whispered before kissing her. 

With a tired smile, Hinawa fell asleep. Flint could only gaze at his wife in silent awe. She had given life to twins without knowing, and now they officially had two sons to take care of. He raked a hand through his brown hair, shaking his head in amazement. As his family slept, Flint started thinking about how quickly he could get another cradle completed.   
\--------  
Over the next few days, Flint and Hinawa found themselves constantly busy. The villagers came around, bringing gifts for the babies and food for the couple. Alec spent a few days at the cabin, taking care of his grandsons while his daughter and son-in-law adjusted to the unexpected arrival of twins. Flint was able to make another cradle within a few days, working tirelessly from dawn to nightfall. Hinawa also managed to finish the quilt she had started during her pregnancy and began another one. 

However, the one thing that the couple had not done yet was choose names for their twin sons. Alec threw out ideas to them, hoping that they could pick something. 

“I’m not going to call my grandsons ‘boy one’ and ‘boy two’”, he mumbled to Hinawa. 

“Papa, we’re trying our best. But none of the names we come up with are working….”, she sighed, turning back to the quilt in her lap. 

“Well, you have to choose names soon”.

Flint chimed in, “We know that, Alec”.   
\---------  
About three days after Alec left and two weeks since the twins were born, Flint and Hinawa were sitting in their living room. The babies were asleep in the cradles, breathing quietly. Boney curled himself next to Hinawa’s usual chair, guarding his family. Hinawa sat in her rocking chair, finishing up the last of the baby blanket, while Flint sat in the small couch across from Hinawa and watched his wife sew. 

“To think we would be blessed with two children at once…”

Hinawa looked up from her work, hearing her husband’s whispered words. 

“I bet they’ll accomplish things together that they couldn’t alone”, he continued. 

Hinawa smiled. 

“I’m sure they’ll argue a lot, too”, she replied. “And I can see them helping each other out when they need it”.

The couple fell silent, Hinawa glancing back down to her needlework. The patterns were starting to hurt her eyes, and she needed to get up out of the chair. It felt like she had been sitting there forever. 

She got up out of the rocking chair and took a few steps towards Flint. He moved over, letting Hinawa take a seat next to him. She leaned her head onto his strong shoulder, eyeing the cradles nearby. The two sat in silence, Hinawa’s hair tickling Flint’s chin while Flint’s shoulder moved up and down with every inhale and exhale. 

After a few minutes, Hinawa’s eyes twinkled. 

“Claus…and Lucas”, she stated to Flint. 

Flint stroked his short beard, considering the names that she had proposed for their babies. They definitely had a nice ring to them. 

He responded, “I bet we’ll mix them up a lot until they get bigger…Claus…and Lucas, huh…”, he muttered. Yeah, it sounded good to him. 

Hinawa turned her head to look her husband in the eye. 

“How do you want them to grow up to be?”

“To be kind, just like you”. 

She giggled that beautiful little laugh that Flint loved so much. 

“Oh. I was just going to say…to be kind, just like you!”

Flint chuckled. 

“Great. Then it’s decided”.

He got up from his seated position, offering a hand to Hinawa. She took it gently in hers. They both walked over to the cradles, leaning over them. 

“Claus”, they said, each of them giving a kiss on the forehead to the baby with a small tuft of reddish hair. 

“Lucas”, they whispered, doing the same to the other twin, a baby with a patch of light blonde hair. 

“Make us proud”, Flint and Hinawa whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoooo, this was a long one. 
> 
> I haven't had much time to write due to work, but I had lots of time to think while working. This is my longest chapter so far, and it's one that I'm actually pretty proud of. The conversation between Flint and Hinawa was pulled straight from the game. 
> 
> Hopefully I'll get another chapter up soon.

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to write a series of short stories about Flint and Hinawa (due to the lack of material) based around the nursery rhyme "The House that Jack Built".
> 
> I have future chapters planned out and I will get to writing them once I'm done with finals week. Please feel free to leave any comments/suggestions, as I haven't written fanfiction in a long time. Thank you!
> 
> -Eli


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